Though we’re still only a few months removed from George Strait’s final show as a touring performer, it’s pretty safe to say that the record breaking concert will go down as one of the biggest concert events in the history of country music, especially for an event centered around a single performer. From shattering the indoor attendance record, to all the special guests, to the circular stage, to the songs and performances themselves, country music may never top what happened on June 7th, 2014 as a farewell to a legendary country performer.

When it came to how the show would be sold to those who couldn’t attend, we knew to anticipate that commercial interests would be considered heavily in the deal. When a selection of the performances from the concert were broadcast via CMT on August 29th, it was no surprise there was a heavy dose of Jason Aldean, Sheryl Crow, and other performers that could attract eyeballs to the broadcast, even though they would also attract the ire of some of George Strait’s traditional country fans. And the same could be expected for the album The Cowboy Rides Away: Live from At&T Stadium when it was released on September 16th.

But what nobody could anticipate is that a George Strait album would be the vehicle for the most excessive, and most blatantly obvious use of the pitch correction software known as Auto-Tune that I have ever, ever heard in the history of recorded music, barring projects purposefully using Auto-Tune as a special effect. The use of Auto-Tune on The Cowboy Rides Away is egregious, and embarrassingly obvious to the point where I can’t believe that a project like this would ever be released for public consumption, especially when such a legendary performer, and such a legendary event, are involved. This is outrageous. It is an abomination. And whomever is responsible for mixing in and mastering this Auto-Tune hatchet job should be marched into someone’s office, forced to listen to King George’s masterful vocals getting transmogrified by 1’s and 0’s like lambs to the slaughter, and then be unceremoniously fired. Then a new version of The Cowboy Rides Away sans the Auto-Tune should be offered to anyone who spent good money on this album. And all this should be done posthaste.

What the hell were they thinking? Who approved this? Who believed that they could slather such excessive Auto-Tune on this project, and people simply wouldn’t notice?

Beyond the deceit that the use of Auto-Tune presents in itself, it is especially difficult to employ in this particular context where you have a live performance, and a performer who doesn’t use Auto-Tune on a regular basis. George Strait sings at times with a cadence that Auto-Tune can’t keep up with. Many times he purposefully sings by beginning a note out-of-tune to eventually bend it back into place in an attempt to squeeze the emotion out of a lyric. This is called “Twang,” and is a critical part of the George Strait experience that someone in a studio decided to destroy because of some silly notion that George Strait’s singing must be perfect. Performers who regularly sing with the aid of Auto-Tune like Rascal Flatts, they know what to do to make sure to not send the program into overdrive. When you add Auto-Tune on to a live performance after the fact, it almost always results in obvious artificial electronic sounds that erode the authenticity of the listening experience.

Auto-Tune was never meant to be used in the way it was used on The Cowboy Rides Away. As audio engineers will tell you, “Everyone in Nashville uses Auto-Tune,” and to an extent, this is probably true in the studio. But the point of Auto-Tune originally was to take errant notes here and there in an otherwise excellent vocal performance, and fix them slightly and harmlessly so an entire new vocal take wasn’t necessary. It was a tool, not a crutch. Almost immediately of course, artists like Cher, and eventually T-Pain began to use it as a vocal enhancement. But when it is administered en masse as it is on this album, the result is something much worse than what a few missed notes would ever sound like. No care, no love was put in the vocals on this album and how the Auto-Tune was administered. Even if some Auto-Tune correction was decided to be used here and there, to the extent it was used on this album is an insult to the listener’s ears.

Veteran producer Chuck Ainlay is given credit as a producer on The Cowboy Rides Away: Live from At&T Stadium. So is George Strait. I have no idea if George Strait had any say so with what happened with this album and the Auto-Tune or not. But even if George Strait himself doesn’t have a problem with it, many fans do. And those fans should demand either their money back, or an unadulterated version of this album. Because this artist, and this concert were too important to mar in such an unnecessary manner.

62 Comments

I was actually looking for this in the store the other day and thank God I didn’t because I listened to the previews on iTunes and it’s horrible. Whoever the hell is responsible for this should never be allowed to touch music again. Strait better come out and address this because this is a slap in the face to every fan whoever supported him.

I’ve listened to the cd numerous times and didn’t notice anything unusual, but I was focusing on George. Except for the duet with Martina which is pure gold, I was really annoyed with all the others and found Miranda to be the worst. I don’t think he needed the help of the others.

As much as I am a fan of George , there are two things about him that I’ve always been disappointed by .

First off… If you listen to any video of any of his live performances at award shows over the years , you will hear very quickly that the King is , in fact , pitchy vocally . Most of today’s country artists are , to some extent . Even George Jones was VERY pitchy ( read Owen Bradley’s stories ) and had to be reigned in studio-wise pre the auto-tuning era . I’m certain that under the conditions George was dealing with at the mammoth event which was his farewell performance he was challenged beyond comprehension vocally. Having heard some of it streamed , I don’t think there was any way they could have released the ‘raw’ product.

Secondly , for as many great songs George has served up to radio there have been as many or more stinkers that escaped serious scrutiny because …well because it was George . And there was an awful lot of outright BAD throwaway crap on many of his albums . BUT saying that , there were also too many amazing gems and performances on those albums to count .

I’m guessing this farewell record was released more as a memento for the folks who attended that particular show or any of the other shows on his Farewell Tour . A glorified ticket-stub …a listenable T-shirt , if you will . The good George stuff , the good songs and the good performances have already been recorded and released ….some countless times . Unless you NEED this latest live album for your collection or for your George scrapbook , its probably best to seek out some of the aforementioned .

I was actually really pleasantly surprised by most of the duets, particularly the one with Jason Aldean on “Fool Hearted Memory.” Assuming he didn’t have the shit auto tuned out of him, he sounded great on that song.

But his other live albums have been better. My favorite is probably the one from Texas Stadium.

Jason Aldean was Auto-Tuned to shit. Every single vocal track on this album was Auto-Tune at a 10 level on a 1 to 10 scale, including all of the duets. In fact many of the duets is where it is most pronounced, including the Jason Aldean duet.

The thing with Auto-Tune is not everyone’s ear is going to be fine tuned enough to pick up on it. And I don’t mean that as an insult or discount to anyone’s ear in any way. It’s just something you get trained to hear once you’ve heard and recognized it before. Some people will say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, his vocals sound great.” But that’s the problem, they sound too great because they are technically in perfect pitch the entire time.

The first time I ever noticed the blatant use of Auto-Tune was with Rascal Flatts, but you really have to listen to pick up on the electronic ghosts that show up between pitch changes. Then when I heard Miranda Lambert sing during the CMA Music Festival broadcast in August, this was the first time I REALLY heard Auto-Tune being blatantly used after-the-fact on a live performance, and it was so obvious I almost fell out of my chair. This is an entire album of songs like that.

If you can’t hear the Auto-Tune use, then color yourself lucky. But for me, and many many others if you go read reviews around the web, it is so obvious it completely ruined the listening experience.

Oh, I can definitely hear it, and it does sully the listening experience even if I do find the album worth repeated listens. Believe me, bud, I don’t mean AT ALL to say your beefs are unjustified. If Auto-Tune should have been left off any recording ever, it should have been left off this one.

One of these days I am going to a long, elaborate blog post on how certain uses of modern studio technology has sullied many a great album, including this one, Metallica’s Death Magnetic, and the new self-titled album from Queensryche…

I think some ears/brains are just so used to Autotune that they can’t tell the difference between real and fake anymore. Years ago, there was a Diet Coke commercial featuring Elton John and Paula Abdul that demonstrated — to my ears, anyway — the difference side by side. John’s voice had a clarity and focus to it, while Abdul’s voice had the living hell processed out of it. Not that you need to spend more time watching commercials, but it is the second one on this video.http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mzEtFASVXJ0

You’re right Trigger. All the voices on this album sound like robots singing. It’s hard to take it seriously.

And for the record, it makes me sick to hear Aldean singing a Country song. It rubs me the wrong way. He’s got no right. This P.O.S. couldn’t care less about Country music, and shame on George for inviting him.

I completely agree with your point, but that is another discussion entirely.

MCA and George sold their collective souls to get “Give It All We Got Tonight” to number one and the two Entertainer of the Year awards. Payback was having the Aldeans and Crows of the world on the final tour and at the final show. I know the fans (well, ones capable of thought) did not want them there. I didn’t have a problem with Martina, Faith, and Alan Jackson participating though. They belonged. The George & Martina duets were a staple of George’s show the past few years. And “Showman’s Life” and “Murder on Music Row” both deserved to be on the setlist.

The thing with Auto-Tune is not everyone”™s ear is going to be fine tuned enough to pick up on it.

Mine isn’t, but maybe this explains why I cringed through both times I’ve listened to the album so far. Though if Miranda Lambert sounded that bad post-AutoTune, I don’t want to think about how she must have sounded live.

And you are never, ever going to get my husband to say anything negative about George Strait.

As a singer…I’d have to agree with your comments on Auto-tune. I’ve tried it to see what all the hype is about and frankly…removed it quick. While its probably ok as a learning / practice tool…there is something good to be said about a singer who practices their craft to the point where artificial tuning is not needed. While I can certainly understand the economics of today’s performers that use it…it pains me to learn how “produced” some artists are. Pride seems to be easily displaced by $$$.

I’m not saying this is the first time George Strait used Auto-Tune. The simple fact is most every artist has used Auto-Tune in some measure at some point in the mainstream. He may have even approved it, I really have no idea. And honestly, I really don’t care. It is so egregious, it should be removed, and an alternative version of the album offered to the public.

This is ridiculous. I travelled 1500 miles to be at this show and even remarked that night how perfect George’s voice was through the whole 3 hour performance. Never imagined anyone would think they could “improve” it by removing its unique sound. Like the article explains, it’s the TWANG – that makes his sound and that George’s fans love. Whoever massacred this would probably try to “smooth out” Hank’s yodeling or edit Bob Wills’ hollers too. So glad I read the early reviews on iTunes when I was about to buy this. Because I did, I listened to the samples and decided to keep my money. I’ll just listen to the originals or his other live, unadultered releases and wait for the DVD to relive that night.

I hate to say it, but I can’t see why they wouldn’t use the Auto-Tuned versions of these songs on the DVD too. I think that’s why it is important for fans to voice their opinions about this to hopefully persuade them to use the raw vocal track.

As you point out, there’s tons of reviews on both iTunes and Amazon, as well as many people complaining on Facebook and other places about this issue. I’m very surprised more country media outlets are not reporting on this.

They used it on the CMT special as well, which I’m surprised didn’t seem to get any attention. I was hoping it would be stripped off for the album, but really disappointed when I listened to the previews and heard that it wasn’t. It just makes no sense to do it. George still has a fantastic voice that sounds good live without any help.

I didn’t watch the special because I don’t have cable, and have an open boycott against CMT on top of that, but I did get numerous emails from people complaining about how bad it was. I thought they were complaining mostly about having to see Jason Aldean and Sheryl Crow on stage, but going back now a couple of people were complaining about the Auto-Tune. I’m late on this story myself because I didn’t get a chance to sit down and really listen to the album until late last week.

Had the pleasure of standing next to a side-stage vocal monitor the night ‘Oceanfront Property’ album debuted at #1. The only thing his voice ever needed live was/is amplification. (He sings at the level of a table conversation). I hate to read of this travesty.

I just listened to a small sampling and noticed it immediately. It’s horrible.

Unfortunately, this happened on another live CD I bought last year too. What I WISH these producers would remember is that the point of a live CD is to capture the different sound that comes with a live performance vs a studio record. Artists oftentimes have different inflections live, or over time they’ve slightly changed how they sing a song. These are what live albums can give the consumer that the studio record can’t. So to me it seems that to go in and CHANGE the live performance misses the whole point.

Not only is the use of autotune terrible, but why did they only have to pick 20 songs? What would’ve been so bad as to make a double cd with all 40 songs? Listening to the songs, I look back at the playlist and think why didn’t they chose this one instead. I think its a wasted opportunity to show the event in it’s true form. I went to the concert and was in complete awe for 3 hours and thought to myself, I can’t believe I’m here witnessing this, I sure hope they make a live album so I can relive it daily. Well, the album doesn’t even come close to matching even a quarter of the greatness of the show. Here’s hoping for a 40 song album, no autotune release in the future.

Each artist sang 2 songs with him, except for Bubba, he only sang Arkansas Dave. So really out of the 40 songs he played, 22 were songs without someone else. It wasn’t as bad as I expected during the show but I would’ve rather heard George for 3 hours straight. Alan Jackson would’ve been the rare exception. He and George worked well on stage.

Hearing the autotune and thinking back to the concert, it sounds nothing and i mean nothing like it did live. I have a few videos on my phone of Check Yes or No and That’s Breaking Hearts Do, and neither of the songs sound the same (and if you youtube it, you can hear how bad the auto tune butchered it). Sad day to ruin such a great event.

I was looking forward to this simply because I had never seen George Strait live. I DVR’d the CMT live show and got through about three songs before I had to shut it off because I just couldn’t take it anymore.

There’s definitely some random correction on instrumentation too. I’ve heard it several times in there. In fact, I think that all of the staccato guitar picking you hear is actually auto-tuned pedal steel… 😀

Two of the more blatant areas are Vince Gill’s part in “The Love Bug” and when Miranda Lambert comes in on “All My Exes Live in Texas”, both of which you can find in the iTunes previews. We’ve never heard such a blatant use of Auto-Tune on a “live” album!

Earth to Nashville: Disgusting. There are 3 things I hate in country music. 1. Synthesized music, especially when it replaces country instruments. No matter how the bro-country boys try to spin it, it’s not and never will be country. 2. Generic, pop and rap lyrics. Not country. 3. Auto-tune. Not country. All 3 of those country killers should be forever banned from country music. Keep it in the genres it came from where it sounds good. Those elements aren’t natural, don’t mix with twang and country doesn’t know how to use or make them sound good. They really degrade and make country music sound a lot worse. Auto-tune on a live album is even more disgusting and erases the point of a live album. They probably auto-tuned it because of Jason’s poor singing there. Listen to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-pMzuoe0sA Jason knows he got owned. 😛 Miranda sounds like a robotic drone and it’s especially irritating when a good singer gets auto-tuned. No way I’d buy this unless they remove all auto-tune. The label should release a non-auto-tuned version ASAP and give it to everyone who paid for this.

I’m listening to it right now – have struggled my way up to Track 10 so far. Not only is it auto-tuned TO DEATH. Overall, it’s just the most sterile sounding live album I’ve ever heard. [Holy shit! Martina just started singing – THAT is some horrible auto-tune right there!] I’d be willing to bet that MOST of the audio you’re hearing on that album wasn’t even from the show – added, re-done, dubbed in after the fact.

Buried under all that pure noise, there are some real songs – but those songs are the only thing real remaining in this mess.

Any wagers on how many years it will be before vocalists are completely replaced by machines? I’ve got $50 on 12 years.

Coming from someone who is a die hard George Strait fan since I was 7 (1987), I was very disappointed with the Cowboy Rides Away CD, my biggest complaint isn’t just all the auto tuned music but I really didn’t care for most of the duets. The CD only covered around half the songs from the final show and most of the cd was just that duets, George really should’ve preformed the last show by himself, this is what his long time fans really wanted. I still can’t understand why Sheryl Crow was even there, IMO she is just another pretender in country music trying to hang on longer to milk more money.

I did attend two shows on the Cowboy Rides Away Tour, first was on February 23/2013 in Hartford Conn and the second last show on May 31/2014 at Foxborough Mass. Both shows were great, but I’m glad I didn’t see the final one in Dallas.

Living in Canada, our CMT didn’t air the final show like CMT USA did for you guys, our CMT Canada is a pure disgrace.

CMT in the US is, for all intents and purposes, a disgrace as well. Glad it aired the concert, but I don’t think it comes close to atoning for “Party Down South” and some of the other crap it’s aired in recent years. JMHO, of course.

Oh man ….. I know better than to put ears to this. At least I know not to get this album as a present for a big George fan friend of mine. What’s worse, in my opinion, is that this release will work to immortalize this historic concert for those that weren’t there and consequently a part of George’s career. This is a blatant erosion of his legacy.

Perhaps before this album was mastered, the producers and record label executives should have sat down and watched Pure Country.

I do like George Strait’s early work and felt he had a lot of authenticity in the 80s. However, by the time the 90s came along he was a commercial artist. His songs didn’t come from his heart, they came from the greedy fingers of writers hoping to bank off of the country craze. Back then it was about love and families. Now it’s about sex and unpaved roads. After your heads stops spinning, take a deal breath, acknowledge that George Strait is a commercial singer (I can’t honestly call him an artist, con-artist maybe) and put on a DWIGHT YOAKAM record. You’ll feel better in no time!

Strait has always been a contemporary commercial artist, he’s just managed to change with the times without completely abandoning his traditional fans or jumping on any momentary trends. And while some of his singles have been forgettable – which is something that can be said for any artist with a career spanning 35 years – I can’t think of any that have been particularly offensive.

I was fortunate enough to see George in Knoxville (w/ Martina) in 2013 and then Allanta this year (unfortunately had the pleasure of seeing Crow open in ATL). Though both shows were great the Knoxville show was my favorite because it had kind of a story tellers vibe to it. At that show he introduced the majority of the songs with a short story. Even though I hsve lots of music from George my favorite thing to listen to are a couple of bootleg live albums recorded in the mid 80’s at Gilley’s. The sound is raw and very alive (no pun intended). Really had high hopes for the Cowboy Rides Away but now I wish I could have my $13 back.

As a 17 year old I grew up listening to Alan, Vince, Buck, Haggard, Jones, Garth, and most of all, The King George Strait, and I bought the album just two days ago. I was so looking forward to his duets with Vince and Alan, but I found myself disappointed. They really messed up the vocals on “Lovebug” and “Murder On Music Row.” They made Alan sound like T-Pain more than George and Vince like Tim McGraw on that trash “Lookin’ For That Girl.” I really hope and pray that he does release another album without auto-tune at all!

No we’re stating the fact that auto-tune sucks, is not country, does not belong in country music, and makes good singers like George sound worse and unnatural like a robot or drone, which is why they should never be auto-tuned. Even for singers who need auto-tune, I’d rather hear them sing off a little than some weird drone sound. There are producers who mistakenly think auto-tune makes country music better and they are wrong and should stop using it. It should be banned from Nashville.

I watched the CMT special when it re-aired a few days after it’s initial run. I noticed the autotune immediately and thought it strange George would use autotune in a live performance (with the exception of a few songs he’s used ProTools on in his albums). I was under the impression the live show itself was pitch corrected as it was being performed, not later on by a producer. (If you read the credits at the end of the show, there’s a credt for a “ProTools”)

There are some posts from people that were at the concert that say he sounded “too perfect” but others saying the actual live performance wasn’t autotuned. Which was it?

George Strait has never needed auto tune, and still doesn’t. The robotic sound takes away from his voice. Sounds like t pain. This album would be one of his best, but thanks to the auto tune, in my opinion it’s one of his worst. This is a fucking disgrace.

I watched the CMT concert and got the album. I couldn’t believe the Autotune on it. I’m a singer, been gigging for 20 years and have done some recordings on a local level. I’m more recent times we have used doubling and harmony on the recordings but not autotune as it does sound too fake.
Vince gill on “All my exes” sounded like an alien 🙁

I caught a rerun of the CMT concert the other night and noticed it seemed like autotune was being used. I thought, George Strait autotuned? No way, my ears must be failing me! But I guess my ears are ok. The mechanical sound was unmistakable. I missed seeing George Strait years ago at an all day festival at the old Cowboys stadium because we had to leave early before George took the stage. One of the most memorable concerts was seeing Vince Gill at Six Flags. No over production, just Vince jamming live with no frills.

Holy God I cannot believe my ears… I heard one of these tracks on Spotify. About 15 seconds into it I thought I heard something strange, but figured it was sound quality. Then it got worse, then worse, until finally I couldn’t tell if I was listening to real people or robots. I almost convinced myself I was inside the matrix and that I was about to be offered a red pill. What in God’s name is going on in Nashville these days…